Posted by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO / Navigation Officer) in MainSIM: Planetside (Lovejoy, Gruver, Valharra)

Posted by Lieutenant Mwezi (Weapons Officer) in MainSIM: Planetside (Lovejoy, Gruver, Valharra)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO / Navigation Officer) in MainSIM: Planetside (Lovejoy, Gruver, Valharra)
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
OOC: Split thread to avoid confusion. - Trin
IC:

Zish nodded and gestured for everyone to follow him. He led them to a Shuttle dock, where a young Laleri pilot was leaning against the wall, looking a little bored. “Anyone who is going down to the surface, Shilo will take you. You’ve gotten their destinations, Scout? Those going to the Orbital Station, I’ll be on the Helm.”

GM notagm

T’Aria waved her hand in a terse signal for the team to follow. “Shilo,” she approached the Laleri pilot with a brisk nod, “T’Aria. We don’t have the luxury of time, so which shuttle will we be taking?”

Once Shilo took the lead, T’Aria fell into step with the rest of the team. “Lieutenant,” her gaze darted between them, “Ensigns. Bear in mind the people we’ll encounter. We do not know what they’re going through, nor how they’ll react to questions from outsiders. Keep your conversations concise and respectful; we’re not here to interrogate or escalate matters.” She suspected their presence wouldn’t help. But the prospect of information that could illuminate more about Kula’s disappearance outweighed discomfort.. on either end.

“Am I clear?” She asked, gesturing Lovejoy, Valharra and Gruver ahead of her once Shilo had paused by the shuttle.

– T’Aria, XO

The pilot, a cream and white furred male with the same incredible height as Mwezi (almost seven feet tall), nodded and gestured towards one of the access ports in the floor. He grasped onto the rungs of the ladder and slid down quickly, waiting for the landing party within.

When they entered, they would find a vessel very different from what they might be used to in Starfleet Ships. Even the Orbital Platforms had a kind of utilitarian, metal structure similar to what they might be used to, but the shuttle was different. It had an almost organic feel to it, with ribbing on the walls, a mottled texture to the ceiling, and a smoothness to the shape of everything that didn’t seem manufactured. There was a soft blue light coming from the walls, and inspection would reveal that the mushroom-shaped lights were not just shaped like mushrooms. They were living organisms.

Shilo gestured to seats set against the wall, which seemed to be grown out of the walls rather than attached to them. “Welcome to Moya,” he spoke, his voice a little halting and characteristic of someone unfamiliar with the language they are speaking. “Please, seat. Officer Sara, Officer Evelin, you pilot your ship. Want to copilot?” He gestured towards the opening to the cockpit.

GM notagm

T’Aria descended the ladder, a hint of wonder flickering across her callous features. Moya’s delicate ribbing tempted her fingers to reach out and inspect them, its eerie radiance drawing her gaze to its bio-metallic walls, but she refrained. They didn’t have time to waste on idle pursuits. Subduing her intrigue for the nature of their mission, the Vulcan followed Shilo’s gesture to the indicated seats.

A hint of a frown came across her face as Evelyn listened to T’Aria’s instructions for the mission going forward. She felt like she was still a cadet in the Academy having to re-learn away team procedures with the redundancy. In her humble opinion, the Executive Officer’s orders were not only common sense, but also felt that she was discretely being singled out for being a known conversationalist. Someone had to bring life to the Chernov at times, might as well be her! She made eye contact with T’Aria and said in a calm tone of voice, “Of course, we’ve got this completely under control Commander.” Evelyn then provided T’Aria with a nod of confidence and assurance.

T’Aria gave a slight nod of appreciation.

As Shilo approached, Evelyn’s eyes widened indicating immense interest over the fact that she absolutely loved his fur and that he was a pilot. She craned her head up at him and smiled as she listened to his instructions politely. Fortunately, she knew better not to pet the man as that would be offensive and jeopardize the mission, but the thought did creep into her mind once or twice. An immense smile came across her lips at his offer to allow her to fly his ship and responded instantaneously, “Absolutely, I would love to sir.” She walked over and sat down at the helm station. Evelyn studied the alien controls, “It will take a bit to get used to the system, but I assure you that I can fly anything .” A wide grin came across her face. It was not every day that she had the opportunity to fly a new kind of vehicle from another world. Evelyn was like a child in a toy store.

• Ensign Evelyn Gruver, Security & Helmsman

The controls, much like the ship herself, were fascinating. Shilo sat down at the main helm area, which was nothing but a small dome at waist-height. “Moya is grown for humans. Controls… similar to your ship.” He put his hands onto the dome and closed his eyes for a moment. “Each ship and pilot are linked. Moya is mine, and only flies for me, unless I am hurt and cannot pilot.”

The control area, which had seemed to be nothing but a featureless slab of whatever it was this ship was made of (some kind of bio-metal?) lit up with controls as the faint hum they had heard before increased to a more audible sound. It seemed to pulse, like a heartbeat. The controls, indeed, seemed to be in a familiar layout to what Evelyn and Sara were used to on the Chernov, although the script things were written in was unfamiliar and alien. However, even that, after a few moments, slowly shifted into the standard alphabet and numeral system they knew. “Is this readable? I have studied Human writing and speaking. Officer Sara, you will watch our designed course and make sure I stay on it. Officer Evelin, you will monitor for other vessels and warn me of potential collisions if necessary. Your roles will increase when we enter the upper atmosphere.”

GM notagm

T’Aria settled back, tilting her head toward the faint oscillations that enlivened Moya with every pulse. Watching as Shilo instructed Gruver and Lovejoy on their roles, the Vulcan pulled out her communicator and flicked it open. Lifting it, she said.. “T’Aria to Captain Taggart…” a slight pause “…We’re just about to make the descent to the surface. Have you reached the Research Platform?”

– T’Aria, XO

Once his ‘assistants’ were in place, Shilo communicated to the vessel that it was time to depart. The ladder descended and a thick membrane closed over the porthole, and a thinner membrane lifted up from the front of the shuttle, revealing that there was a window there. The passengers were given a great view of their surroundings, and a soft shudder communicated that they had undocked from the Docking Station.

Moya immediately began to descend, soon entering the atmosphere.

GM notagm

Evelyn reviewed the navigational console to see if there were any vehicles or objects in the vicinity and did not detect anything on the monitor, “There are no obstructions on our current course based off the console’s readings. The flight path is free and clear.”

Evelyn turned her head to Shilo from the helm, “So, what is my role going to be when we enter the upper atmosphere Shilo? Our elevation level indicates that we are about to enter the upper atmosphere of the planet. What is your action plan? I can totally learn on the fly, but I will need instructions sooner rather than at the last second.” She spoke with a calm tone and not at all in a disrespectful manner. She was a token example of a young Ensign still learning and growing as a Starfleet officer with high potential in her favor.

After questioning Shilo, Evelyn had a look of curiosity on her face as she was clearly fascinated with the prospect of flying a completely alien vehicle in comparison to standard Starfleet vessels that she had piloted over the years. However, she was young, a bit nervous, and needed guidance because she had the drive to be successful. She did not want to look incompetent around her Lieutenant Commander T’Aria and Lieutenant Lovejoy on her first away mission. She was just about certain that they would both surely review her performance with the Captain afterwards, especially if she made mistakes and failed to perform her assigned duties.

• Ensign Gruver, Helmsman & Security

Shilo gave instructions and the vessel descended through the atmosphere, quickly approaching an island off the coast of one of the more tropical climates. Once they had descended close enough to where the shapes of the landmasses were no longer visible, the terrain below seemed very nostalgic and Earth-like. They landed softly on
a landing pad, Moya’s inertial dampeners making it a very smooth landing. Once the vessel was settled, the window membrane was closed, and a soft hiss of wind and a sudden smell of cut grass were the signs that some air-tight seal had been broken. The light streamed in from the rear of the vehicle, and exploring in that direction would lead them to a hatch that worked quite similarly to the rear hatch on a Starfleet Shuttlecraft.

“Let’s head out,” T’Aria rose to her feet, opening a hand to the path carved by an aft beam of light.

The area where they had landed was full of similar vessels to Shilo’s craft, and now that they were in an atmosphere where sound could travel, the Starfleet crew could hear and feel a kind of buzzing in the air. Almost like a swarm of bees, but at a lower register. T’Aria could probably even feel a slight pressure on her mind as this large group of vessels were actually communicating with one another, transmitting who knows what amongst themselves.

GM notagm

T’Aria stepped from Moya, her pointed ears met by the gentle susurrus of her companion vessels. It was ethereal. A ghostly pressure pushed against the barriers of her mind, tempting her fingers to seek clarity in Moya‘s touch. But she yielded no more than a tame shake of her head. Tunnelling her thoughts before they dared to entice her, T’Aria turned to her fellow officers and the Laleri pilot.

“Shilo,” she nodded to him, “are the implosion’s survivors recovering in a facility or individual homes?” She asked to get a better sense of where and into what kind of environment they were heading.

— T’Aria, XO

“Somewhat of a mixture between the two,” Shilo replied with a small smile towards the Vulcan. “The research team was a family of sorts, so they chose to live together as they recovered from their injuries, and while the platform is repaired. It is similar to a group home, I believe.”

T’Aria nodded, somewhat appreciatively.

As they left the shipyard, they were led to another parking lot of sorts, filled with land vehicles that looked like the bed of a pick-up truck. They hovered a few inches off the ground, and consisted of a soft-bottomed floor and sturdy walls. Shilo got into one and gestured for the others to join him.

GM notagm

A chirp drew her attention from the path to her belt. T’Aria lifted her hand to gesture the others ahead, stepping aside to fish her communicator from its perch. Flicking it open, she heard…

[O]Commander T’Aria. We have and are now pulling away from it. We encountered a tragic incident and we are en route back to the Chernov until tomorrow. I will brief you once you beam back to the ship of the incident. It’s not good. Taggart out.[O]

She hesitated, mulling over Mwezi’s odds and Taggart’s orders. Regulation told her to obey, but instinct told her Mwezi couldn’t wait until morning. T’Aria furrowed her brow, glancing at the communicator, and parted her lips in the makings of protest. But Taggart got to it first.

[O]Commander T’Aria. Disregard my previous message and continue your research on the planet. I’ll get back to you tonight to brief you on what happened. Taggart out. [O]
Captain Chris Taggart CO

Something or someone changed his mind, but Taggart’s insistence divulged all she needed to know. Something had gone terribly wrong. T’Aria brushed away her innate concern, toggling the communicator to return.. [O]Understood, Captain. We’ll see you back on the Chernov. T’Aria, out.[C]

She took in a soft breath, clipping her communicator, and followed after her team. Affording them a quiet nod, she climbed into the bed-of-a-pickup-truck-like hovercraft.

– T’Aria, XO

Ensign Valharra sitting in the back of the bed of the truck, noticed the look of concern on the XO’s face. “Everything ok, Ma’am?” he asked.
Ensign Valharra, security